Fijiana 7s coach Saiasi Fuli is expected to announce his 15-member team for the Paris Olympics this week. Fuli confirmed that the team will depart for France on Monday, July 15.
“We will be at the HFC Bank Stadium today,” Fuli stated yesterday.
The 15-member men’s sevens team, coached by Osea Kolisau, already flew out on Monday.
The men’s sevens competition will take place from July 24-27, followed by the women’s tournament from July 28-30. The men’s gold medal match on July 27 will be the first team sport gold medal awarded at the Games.
The women’s competition features three competitive pools. Reigning Olympic champions and SVNS League winners New Zealand will face Fiji, Canada, and newly qualified China in Pool A. Pool B will see Rio 2016 Olympic and SVNS 2024 gold medalists Australia competing against Ireland, Great Britain, and debutants South Africa. Hosts France, a top-ranked team with a silver medal from Tokyo 2020, will compete in Pool C against the USA, Japan, and Brazil.
The men’s pools are as follows: Pool A includes New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and Japan; Pool B consists of Argentina, Australia, Samoa, and Kenya; Pool C includes Fiji, France, USA, and Uruguay.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont commented, “The rugby sevens Olympic pools promise to be an epic, coming-of-age tournament for our sport in the French capital. Our sport will have the honor of kicking off Paris 2024 in style with an exciting and spectacular brand of rugby that will excite the hundreds of thousands of fans in Stade de France and capture millions more hearts and minds of those watching around the world. Rugby sevens is a fantastic engine to grow our sport and on its third Olympic appearance is already proving to be one of the attractions of the Games with record enthusiasm for tickets, mouthwatering rivalries, and two strong French national teams hoping to achieve their Olympic dreams on home soil. We know from Rugby World Cup 2023 what an amazing rugby show Paris can put on and the Olympic Games will be no different with knowledgeable and passionate fans expected to fill the stadium and create an incredible atmosphere for the players and teams to showcase their unique combination of speed, strength, and sensational skills.”
All events will take place at a refurbished and packed Stade de France, which has a seating capacity of 69,000.